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WOBURN — The Massachusetts Republican State Committee voted unanimously on Thursday night in support of a resolution opposing the ranked-choice voting ballot measure that will be decided by voters next month, a proposal the resolution says ignores the fact that the “success of our voting system depends on simplicity, clarity, and ease of use for all.” 

A ranked-choice voting system goes against the Massachusetts Constitution, which has for 240 years held that “the person with the ‘highest number of votes’ is the winner of an election,” the resolution notes. 

A copy of the resolution is posted below. 

“One person, one vote. That’s the bedrock of American elections,” said Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons. “If ranked-choice voting had existed in 1860, Abraham Lincoln would not have been elected president, that’s a fact.” 

OFFERED BY STATE COMMITTEEWOMAN AMY CARNEVALE
MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN STATE COMMITTEE
RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN MASSACHUSETTS AND IN SUPPORT OF A NO VOTE ON QUESTION 2
WHEREAS:  American democracy is rooted in the principle of one person, one vote; and
WHEREAS:  The success of our voting system depends on simplicity, clarity, and ease of use for all; and
WHEREAS:  Our state constitution—the oldest continuously functioning constitution in the world–states that for offices such as the governor or state legislators, the person with the “highest number of votes” is the winner of an election; and
WHEREAS: Studies have shown that Ranked Choice Voting is an unnecessarily confusing voting system that has been shown to result in a disproportionate number of “spoiled” ballots cast by the less educated, those for whom English is not their first language and people of color; and
WHEREAS: Older voters are the segment of the population that often finds Ranked Choice Voting to be most confusing; and 
WHEREAS: Academic studies have shown that Ranked Choice Voting usually does not achieve its stated goal of electing the candidate favored by the majority; and
WHEREAS: Ranked Choice Voting raises the potential for rigging and gaming elections; and
WHEREAS: Implementing Ranked Choice Voting for state elections in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts beginning in 2024 is Question 2 on the November 3, 2020, ballot.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the State Committee of the Massachusetts Republican Party: the State Committee stands in opposition to Ranked Choice Voting and recommends a “No” vote on Question 2.